Jordan Henderson called for strong punishments to be enforced alongside greater education in a bid to combat the racial incidents that continue to arise at football matches across the globe.
Football, and society, rear its ugly ahead amid latest instances of racism
While the weekend proved to be another decisive one in the Premier League, with Liverpool romping to another win as Manchester City's hopes of retaining the title took a potentially critical blow after a 2-1 defeat against Manchester United, headlines were instead marred by the latest in a growing line of distasteful scenes.
A 13-year-old Burnley fan was ejected for an allegedly racist gesture towards Tottenham's Son Heung-min, two Wolves fans were arrested for homophobic actions at Brighton and a 41-year-old was videoed engaging in alleged monkey gestures towards Manchester United duo Fred and Jesse Lingard.
The latest incidents in a long list of scenes, which include Italian publication Corriere Dello Sport's abhorrent headline 'Black Friday', issues of racism remain rife within not only football, but society as a whole.
Henderson calls for tougher stance on racism
Indeed, Liverpool captain Henderson believes there is plenty of work to be done to tackle the issue.
"It's a topic we are probably speaking about a little too much at the minute, especially what I've experienced recently on international duty," Henderson said in the pre-match press conference ahead of a pivotal Champions League decider against Salzburg on Tuesday night.
The midfielder, who was referencing an incident that occurred in Bulgaria in England's Euro 2020 qualifier, was quick to highlight the need for players, fans and clubs to come together to fight against racism.
"It's not a nice topic to speak about, but it's one where we need to come together as players, clubs, supporters and the start to fight it again, with stronger punishments, more education."
"It's a problem. We can't pretend it's happening in every other country and not in ours. It's happening everywhere. We have to fight it as best as we can."